


Dancing queens, young, seventeen, living in the apocalypse

by Le_mango



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Ellie burning her scar, Every time ND gives an update Ellie gets another girlfriend, F/F, Heaven-sent lesbian drama, I have two whole information and this is what happened, I'M SO PROUD OF HER, If you look close enough there might even be a plot, Not sure how. I def didn't put it there, One character is pining hard and its not the one you think it is, Ouch, This is your fault Max, just dumb teens being dramatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 10:50:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20852219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Le_mango/pseuds/Le_mango
Summary: I have given up on fic titles. Ellie covers up her scar and gets a girlfriend. That girlfriend kinda drives Dina up the 80-foot Jackson walls. (Not technically Dina/Ellie but the Kat tag literally doesn't exist yet.)





	Dancing queens, young, seventeen, living in the apocalypse

**Author's Note:**

> I've had such chaotic bastard energy lately. It might pop up here there and a little everywhere.

“You sure about this kid?” Joel asked for the hundredth time in the last hour.

Ellie sat on the broken counter looking over her arm. Almost two years and you could still make out marks from individual teeth. “I’m sick of having to keep this covered. Unless you have any better ideas I’m sure about it.”

He exhaled starting to mix four different bottles together. Basically anything with a massive warning label is what they had grabbed. “You better start mixing up the soda too. The last thing I want is for this to get out of hand.”

“There’s something I want to get off my hand,” Ellie mumbled slowly adding water to the baking soda they had.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Ellie couldn’t help the butterflies cannibalizing her stomach. The scar would never be gone but she’d finally figured out a way to change it. She was tired of being the idiot that wore long-sleeves while swimming. Summers would get hot and humid and she couldn’t even roll her sleeves up. More than anything she was just sick of the damn thing. Ellie took a deep breath. “You have your lies about what happened ready?”

“I’ll find one by the time we get back.” Joel stepped over with the bottle. The smell coming from it was enough to make one’s eyes water. “You sure,”

“Yes. God, Joel I’ve been ready for months.” Ellie said holding her arm away from her body. “Pour away.” She shoved his leather riding glove into her mouth. Joel’s eyes were pained as he poured a steady stream of the acidic mix over the scar. At first, Ellie didn’t feel anything but the liquid dripping off her arm. It took a few back and forth passes before it started to itch. “Keep going,” Ellie assured. The itch rapidly started to turn into a burning sensation crawling into her skin. Ellie winced biting down.

“You good?” He paused.

Ellie nodded sternly motioning for him to keep pouring. Within seconds the pain tripled. “Motherfuck,” Ellie muffled through the glove. “Fuckfuckfuckfuck,” she rapidly continued as the burning dug down into every nerve in her body. This was nothing compared to the pain of the initial bite. “Ohh fucking shit. Stop,” she gasped and Joel immediately dropped the cleaner reaching for the water. Ellie pushed him back still waiting for the pain to threaten to knock her out. As soon as her good arm dropped Joel dumped the first bottle out rinsing her arm. He smeared the baking soda in a thick layer around her entire arm trying to neutralize the acid.

Ellie’s breaths shook as she bit down on the glove. Tears were starting to streak down her cheeks and sweat was clinging to her hairline. “Shit,” Ellie’s voice trembled. In some places the white paste was starting to fizz. Ellie pressed her eyes shut hoping it would block out the pain as well. She wasn’t sure how long it was before Joel started washing everything off. He poured one bottle after the other tossing the empty ones aside. The surrounding floor was turning muddy.

After the final one he ripped the long plastic gloves off grabbing Ellie’s face. “You alright baby girl?” His thumbs across the wet lines covering her cheeks.

“Yeah,” Ellie let the glove fall from her mouth. “Fuck that hurts.” She fell forward into his chest and Joel immediately wrapped her in a tight hug. They had set up camp nearby but Ellie could barely eat. So far there was just a dark read rash and a few small blisters covering her arm. Ellie tried to swallow the lump in her throat again. That was just the start.

They barely made it back from the patrol before her skin started breaking. More blisters and cracks starting to appear across her arm. Joel covered all her excuses while she cowered in her room. Within a few days the skin started to peel. Rather than bandage in all down Ellie waited until Tommy and Maria were out and jumped in the shower. This time she bit down on a balled-up bandana as she cut and scrubbed the damaged skin off. It was a disgusting goop but fascinating in an equally horrifying way. Joel waited just outside to make sure she didn’t pass out. Despite the agonizing pain Ellie managed to laugh when the most obvious ridge of the bite peeled away. “Joel,” Ellie weakly called out.

“Yeah?” He pushed the door open.

Ellie held out her raw bloodied arm, “Think that’s enough?”

He nodded firmly stepping in with a bag of supplies. He cleaned the wounds thoroughly, pausing every few minutes to let Ellie recover from the pain. Once that was done he covered her entire forearm with a salve and wrapped it up tightly. “Don’t ever ask me to do something like that again.” Joel’s voice shook.

Ellie had purposely waited for winter. The long and heavy jackets made it easier to hide the bandages running all the way to her wrist. Joel would help clean the wound every day. He would even stand at her side to make sure no one would accidentally bump into her. Days turned into months and scabs turned to scars. The skin was still tender come summertime but it had healed to the point where no one could tell how recent it was. Dina was already waiting outside impatiently throwing rocks at Ellie’s window. Ellie stared into her closet trying to decide what to throw on over her shirt. She inspected her arm before grinning widely. “Fuck it.”

She ran down the stairs and passed Joel eating a late breakfast. “Don’t forget you have that watch tonight.” He didn’t say anything about the lack of sleeves.

“Come on. I’ve never been late to anything,” Ellie shot out the door and Dina immediately lit up.

“Took you long enough,” Her face dropped suddenly staring down at Ellie’s arm. “Holy shit that’s gnarly!” She grabbed Ellie’s arm looking at the warped skin. “You’ve been coving this up the whole time?”

“What do you mean? I’ve worn shirts like this before.”

Dina's brows dropped confused. “Have you?” She stammered for a moment trying to recall if that was right. “I was just starting to think you were a prude. Either way, you could have picked up so many girls with scars like that.” Dina let go punching her shoulder. “What’s with all the holding out?” Dina switched to the plans for the day not bothering to ask anything else.

\--X--

“Looks like there’s two kids headed towards us.” The radio came to life suddenly and Dina lifted her head from Ellie’s lap. “Don’t recognize either but they don’t seem heavily armed.”

“Got it. We'll check it out.” Ellie responded shortly.

Dina grumbled stretching before standing. “And here I thought I could get some actual sleep today.”

Ellie brushed Dina’s stray hairs back into place. “Boohoo. Looks like you have to work at work.” Granted being the on-call guards usually just meant giving breaks to those in the watchtowers and opening the gates for patrols. They stepped out of the small guard booth and Ellie held her rifle ready nodding to Dina. Dina cracked open the gate and Ellie slipped out first spotting the pair, “Don’t move.” She called out.

They froze immediately. Ellie slowly walked forward keeping the rifle aimed at the older of the two. Dina came up beside her with one hand on her own pistol. “We’d rather not hurt you. What are you doing out here?” Dina asked.

“We’re just looking,” The older girl stepped forward.

“Don’t,” Ellie warned.

She swallowed freezing again. “Is this Jackson?” She didn’t get an answer. “We ran into a group a few weeks back that said it was safe here. I think one of them was Matt, Marcus?”

Dina glanced back to Ellie, “I don’t know the name.”

“I think it was the group that just came and traded a lot of old shit. Like pots and pans.” Ellie offered not taking her eyes away from the two. The younger boy was shaking as he hung onto her leg.

“Michal,” Dina snapped. “They were heading back into the cities. I can see why they wouldn’t bring kids along.” Ellie nodded lowering the rifle. Dina turned back to the two. “Well, you’ve made it to Jackson alright.” She pat Ellie’s shoulder. “You take care of them. I’ll stay on-call.” Ellie rolled her eyes knowing that was code for sleeping.

“You’ll have to stay here for a few days. It’s got everything you’d need and meals are just down the street.” Ellie briefly guided them through the small house they kept open for travelers. It would take a few days to find something more permanent. “I’ll find some clean clothes and leave you two be.” They awkwardly set their bags down on a wide bed. “Hopefully there’s no hard feelings about being held at gunpoint.”

“I get it. You can never be too safe.” Ellie nodded getting ready to step out. “What’s your name?” She asked

“Ellie. The other girl you saw was Dina.” Ellie looked away from the light eyes piercing into her soul.

“Everyone calls me Kat.” She started.

“So,” Dina grinned when Ellie finally made it back. “You took longer than usual.”

“Shut up. It was hard to find clothes that fit Alden.”

“That’s a new name, but what did you think?” Ellie shot back a questioning look. “She’s kinda cute right?” Dina's brows energetically wiggled.

“Ohh fuck off.” Ellie groaned flopping onto the bench. Sure they had talked a while about where she had come from but that was normal. Ellie realized laziness wasn’t the only reason Dina had stayed behind. She suddenly wanted to smack the smug grin off her face.

Kat was, quite, to say the least. Some even went as far as to call her a space-cadet. But she worked her ass off regardless of what she had been assigned. Within a few weeks she’d managed to establish herself as a quality citizen. Alden was well, eight. Ellie wasn’t completely sure how it had gotten to this point but her arm was covered in charcoal doodles. From dozens of bubbles clustered around her elbow to more floral patterns blooming up to the back of her hand. She had joked about a T-Rex. Kat was still trying to sketch that out over her bicep. “You know what? This might actually turn out better than the horse I tried to do before.”

“Really?” Ellie turned to see what had been drawn so far.

“Hey, no.” Kat quickly threw a hand up to cover Ellie’s eyes. “You can’t look until it’s done.”

“It’s my arm.”

“Not anymore.” She didn’t take her hand away until Ellie turned forward again. Ellie could see Kay’s tongue starting to peek out as she worked.

Ellie chuckled lightly. Maybe she was just a little cute... She could hear a telltale laugh coming into the lobby. Looks like Dina had just gotten back from her latest patrol. Her jeans were still covered in dried mud and a few darker spots. She grabbed a bowl before catching sight of Ellie’s predicament. Dina smiled holding up a peace sign before sticking her tongue between the two finge-, “Jesus,” Ellie jerked back.

“Hey,” Kat complained. 

“Sorry. Must have been a chill,” Ellie glared back at Dina who was doubled over laughing, “or something.”

“You’re literally a human furnace,” Kat grumbled licking her thumb to clean off the dark line that tore across the Rex’s body. Little doodles and sometimes even murals would pop up everywhere. Small portraits in the margins of patrol logs. A clicker's head bursting into flowers covering an entire door. Alden and his friends would come running around corners with tiger stripes. Once Ellie woke up to a flock of birds on her abdomen.

“No Dina today?” Kat said wandering closer to Ellie as she checked the rifle she had been given. “I thought you two were attached at the hip.”

Ellie chuckled, “We can survive a few days apart before she starts to shrivel up.” Ellie pulled herself up into the saddle with ease. “That, and she fractured her arm.”

“Ohhkay. That makes more sense then what I heard.” She jumped onto her pinto. “I hope you don’t mind but I switched with Brandon. I’m starting to get tired of my route.”

Ellie reflexively kept her horse steady as it danced a few steps to the side. “Just don’t ruin my perfect record.” She teased. The first few hours were relatively still. There was one runner that came after the horses but it was an easy target running down the center of the open street. “There’s a good place to stop just ahead, we-“

“Wait,” Kat gasped. Ellie grabbed her pistol as Kat jumped off her horse. She ran up to a window scrubbing the dirt off with her sleeve. She cackled excitedly, “We’re stopping here.” She ran to the door testing the handle. When it didn’t budge she immediately started kicking.

“What are you,” another shuddering boom, “Christ Kat are you trying to attract everything to us?” Ellie panicked. The door cracked and the deadbolt popped out of the frame.

“Yes!” She cheered stepping in with her rifle up.

“Goddamnit,” Ellie hissed following behind. Kat sped through the small room checking for any dangers. She cackled again throwing the rifle back into her shoulder.

“Look at this,” Kat threw open drawer after drawer, “it’s all perfect. A little dirty but that’s not too hard to,“ her eyes tripled in size grabbing something, “Ohhhohohohohoho!” She danced in place. “No way. Nooo way.” Ellie slowly came closer unsure how to take the energetic outburst. But she couldn’t help but smile. “Do you know what this is? Basically the Rolls Royce of Tattoo machines. Ohhhhhh god Kaden would have killed for something like this.”

“Who?” Kat's demeanor dropped momentarily.

“My older brother. At least, was one of them,” she faded off for a second. “Come here. How much bag space do you have?” She threw her bag down shoving all sorts of unrecognizable items and cases into it. “Ellie.”

“Calm down I’m coming.” Ellie shook out of her trance. It was impossible not to stare as Kat bounced up and down gushing over dozens of different things. This might just be the most talking Ellie had ever heard come from her in a day. If anything all the outbursts were, adorable.

It started off with small tattoos here and there. But once the word got out Kat was easily working with someone every other day. People would trade anything, bullets, notebooks, alcohol, shift trades. One traveler gave her the leather jacket off his own back to finish a tattoo he’d had for decades. Names and dates were popular. She could recreate handwritten notes with near-perfect accuracy. “Some guy just wanted me to tattoo his ass!” Kat came storming into the living room. “Hey Joel,” she briefly waived before dropping to the couch and throwing her feet into Ellie’s lap. “And a shotgun of all things??!”

“Did you do it?” Ellie teased.

“No! He was like ninety.”

“So was it the age part or ass part you have a problem with?” She sat sputtering for a solid minute.

—X—

“Sorry it’s a little cramped,” Ellie tried to take up as little of the space as she could.

“Seriously it’s fine. Try sharing a bed with an eight-year-old. It’s twice as big but he still manages to kick me in the ribs every night.”

She chuckled softly, “Did you forget him at the dance or what?”

“Dannie’s watching him for the night. I don’t know how she manages to keep him and Ryan out of trouble. It’s hard enough to keep track of one kid.”

“Well hey,” Ellie sighed, “at least he’s got someone. My mom just left me on a dumpster with a knife. The hell is a baby supposed to do with that?”

There was an odd pause, “That explains a lot,” Kat laughed. “No object permanence but you’re already armed.”

“I sure hope I’m armed.” Ellie held up both hands. “Still there.” She dropped them back relived. Kat chuckled again grabbing Ellie’s arm. Her fingers lingered gliding across the warped skin. Ellie couldn’t even feel them but she didn’t want her to stop.

“What kind of shit do you have to go through for something like this?” She asked quietly not even looking for an answer. “I could cover it.”

“Hm?” A moment of fear. Ellie had already covered it.

“You always try to hide it.” Kat sat up crossing her arms. “You naturally cross your arms with your right arm on top. Whenever someone comes by or starts to stare you, switch them to cover it.” She dropped her arms from the example. “Not to mention you never let me draw on that side.”

“I guess? I’m more confused as to why you would notice something like that.”

“I’ve noticed a lot of things,” Kat said under her breath letting her hair down. “It’s always easier to cover scars up.” She ran her hand through it pushing away from her ear.

“Holy fuck,” Ellie sat up staring at the thick scar that tracked across her scalp. It split into two making a ‘Y’ behind her ear. “H-how?”

“Funny thing is I don’t know. Before I had this I had five siblings, now it’s just Alden. My hearing used to be a hell of a lot better too.”

“Five!?”

“Crazy right? Two older, only one sister. Don’t even bother asking how many dads.” She dropped the hair back down. “Boom. No one knows and no one can ask.”

How could air be so heavy? A bright voice so dark. Ellie didn’t think about it until it was already happening. Her lips were against Kats and hands on the sides of her face. But she didn’t respond. Ellie pulled away abruptly, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to, are you even?” She stumbled.

“I am.” Kat grabbed her wrist keeping her hands in place shooting forward. She was so soft. The way her hands moved. Her lips. Her hair. Each kiss was just begging Ellie to move closer. “It’s just been a while.” She breathed.

“No kidding?” What did that even mean? Ellie rolled to her knees leaning more and more into each kiss. God she needed this. “Do you mind if I?” She grabbed at the bottom of her own shirt. Kat smiled into the next kiss. Her hands were on Ellie’s back almost as soon as the cold air was. Pulling her closer. Sliding along sides. Everywhere her hands touched left a wake of chills.

“Wait,” Kat panted. Ellie pulled back just enough to see her face. She pulled off her own shirt tossing it aside. Another pale scar followed her collar bone. Ellie kissed her once more before moving to the new mark. She followed it across her chest. Breaking away to kiss her neck. Kat swore softly and Ellie crumbled.

\--X--

“I can’t believe you missed another one.” Dina slid into the bench in front of Ellie. “That’s three dances in a row. Who’s supposed to bail me out when Jesse tries to talk to me?”

Ellie half-listened downing her breakfast. Dina dropped her coveted bacon portion onto Ellie’s plate. “I was on a patrol during one.”

“So what, you forgot about the other two? They’re months apart you could schedule around-,” Kat dropped a journal on the table and Dina knew Ellie’s attention was gone.

“Hey, you’re up early.” Ellie cooed.

“The last guy didn’t take as long as I thought.” She stepped over the bench kissing Ellie’s cheek.

Dina groaned throwing her hands in the air. “Unbelievable.”

“What was that?” Ellie’s eyes miraculously unglued from Kat.

“Nothing. Just be ready for our patrol later.” Dina picked at the eggs in front of her.

Kat shuffled through the journal passing hundreds of drawings before landing on a cluttered page. “This is kind of rough but I think I know what to do with arm.” She pointed at a two-inch thing.

Ellie tried to make out the scribbled shapes. “Drunken pine-tree and needles?”

“Needle drunk pine? That’s what you see?” Kat sighed grabbing Ellie’s arm. “I know you wanted natural but not floral. I’m thinking fern leaf and some other type of branch going along here.” She traced a finger along Ellie’s arm. She stopped just before her elbow, “And a Polyphemus moth. Those fuckers are huge.”

Kat rambled on. Ferns this. Symbolism that. Moths because you always find the light of things. Ha, fucking, ha. Dina had to try her best not to puke. She had teased and pushed Ellie into this, but God at what cost?

\--X--

“I wasn’t really sure what to bring to trade.” Ellie’s leg bounced up and down watching as Kat set up dozens of mystery items, “Vodka is a popular one right?”

“That’s just because I need that for the ink.” Kat tied her hair back into a tight bun. 

“You’re saying I could get drunk from this?” Ellie’s brow shot up.

She snorted lightly, “Maybe if you were two minutes old. Besides this one’s free.”

“I can’t just leave you hanging like that. You already said this would use up most of your,” Ellie was cut off with a long kiss.

“That should cover most of it.” Kat grinned before heading back and thoroughly scrubbing her hands. “I won’t finish it all today. You can easily pay for the rest later.”

Ellie bit her lip letting her mind wander on the implications of that. Kat came back with a small container of soapy water and started cleaning Ellie’s arm off. There were plenty of moments where she lingered longer than necessary. “You sure the scaring isn’t going to mess this up?”

“I’ve covered a lot of scars. Yours don’t seem thick enough to be a problem.” As soon as Ellie’s arm dried she started sketching with dark purple lines. “As for you going over the wrist is probably going to be the worst part. Do you want to do that first or-“

“First.”

“So decisive,” There was something about her voice. Just that hint of teasing, “It won’t even be that bad for you. Women have a higher pain tolerance.” The outline grew bigger and for the first time Ellie could really start to imagine what the end product would look like. “You would not believe how many guys come in acting tough just to wind up bawling as I put some shit like ‘Mom’ on their shoulder.” She chuckled to herself, “Sometimes they pay extra after if I don’t tell anyone they cried.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Can’t tell you.” Kat grinned falling into silence as she focused on sketching the finer details. She rolled back a bit inspecting the lines. “If you want to change anything say it now.”

“Needs more cowbell.”

“What?”

Ellie sighed, “Nothing, Just a stupid thing Joel always says.” She spun her arm inspecting the lines and chuckled. “Stab away.” It was taking all of Ellie’s power to sit still. Every part of her was vibrating with the joy of knowing she wouldn’t have to look at that scar again.

“Alrighty.” Kat picked up the small machine dipping it into a dark ink. “It might hurt a bit but you’ve also been shot multiple times.” She kicked a small pedal forward and went quiet as the machine hummed to life. She started an inch above Ellie’s wrist and slowly started working down. “Everything good?” She checked.

“Like you said, I’ve been shot before.” Other than the few spots around her hand Ellie could barely feel anything. The constant hum was making her tired. Kat would go silent for long periods of time. Biting her lip as she worked on a curve or her tongue would start to peek out as she followed the longer lines.

It easily took two hours for her to finish all the outlines. At that point Kat stood stretching. “Oooookay,” she swapped the needles out for an even bigger grouping. “You dead yet?”

“Unfortunately no.” A short break, and maybe just a little making-out later, she was back work. Ellie had almost fallen asleep before the door slammed open and a dirty Alden trudged in and fell onto the bed.

“Hey, no sleeping until you clean up,” Kat called out without missing a beat. There was an indistinct whine in reply. “You can’t play with Ryan after class if you’re going to be a stinker.” He stomped his way to the small bathroom. Kat stopped just long enough to check the clock behind her, “I guess it is getting late.” She mumbled.

“I can leave now.”

Kat shook her head, “I was going to stop after this section anyways. It might be a few weeks before I can finish but,” The shower shut off after being on for less than two minutes. “Goddammit,” she laughed quietly. A few moments later Alden stomped out with dirt still clinging to spots. Some smaller back and forth as she tried to convince him reading was important and, no he can’t have his own gun yet. Kat finished off the main branch soon after he had fallen asleep.

Ellie bounced her way back home admiring the partial tattoo. Even if it never got finished it already looked amazing. Hell, she wanted to do the other arm too. The house was dark as she opened the door, “Jesus!” Ellie jumped at the figure on the couch. “Are you a fucking bat?”

“You’re late,” Joel frowned into his cup.

“I guess I forgot to tell you. I left after dinner,” Ellie’s excitement bubbles up again, “to get this done.” She held up her arm.

“Get what?” He flicked on the lamp. There was a moment of a surprise but he seemed interested more than anything. “Lemme look at that.”

Ellie proudly came closer. “It’s not done yet but,”

“That’s pretty good,” Joel mumbled.

“Right?!” Ellie cleared her throat after the outburst.

He looked up amused. “I wish you would have told me first but if you’re happy about it, I guess it isn’t a problem. Does it hurt doing it on top of scars like that?”

“Didn’t feel a thing. Kat said that’s pretty normal.”

“Kat? Is that the one that’s, not Dina?”

“Joel,” Ellie paused, “She’s been here almost an entire year. That’s how you keep track?”

\--X--

The weather was just starting to turn. Late fall was honestly Ellie’s favorite time of the year. The mountains surrounding Jackson would light up in bright oranges and reds. It also meant Kat kept taking all of her jackets. Speaking of whom, she was already asleep tucked against Ellie’s chest. Just about anytime Alden spent a night at a friend’s house Kat would spend the free time with Ellie. It wasn’t always much but Ellie was grateful for every second. She was so close to sleeping. Kat was so warm and cozy. Ellie’s head bobbed down. A sudden noise outside. Ellie’s attention shot to the window just in time to see a figure drop out of view.

“What was that?” Kat mumbled.

“I’m not sure,” Ellie gently pushed her off and kissed her forehead. “I’ll go check real quick.” Kat groaned finding a new comfortable spot on the bed. Ellie’s heart was pounding and she wasn’t sure why. She stomped on her shoes racing outside. “Dina.” She whispered harshly chasing her as she walked down the street. “The hell was that?”

“Fuck. Off.” Dina didn’t turn.

Ellie ran up still confused, “What’s going on?”

Dina stopped with an angry huff, “Now you care?” She snapped.

“What?”

“Don’t give me that shit. You obviously have more important things, people,” she glared, “to do.”

“Woah okay,” Ellie stepped back with her hands in the air, “Am I missing something here?”

Dina’s eyes bore into her. “You seriously don’t remember?” Ellie’s silence was more than enough. “You fucking asshole!” Dina swung at Ellie’s shoulder but she managed to dodge. That move only seemed to piss her off more. “You said you’d come over tonight. I needed someone to talk too.”

“I, when?” Ellie stammered.

“This,” Dina shoved her back, “fucking morning.”

“Hey sorry. I must have forgotten,”

“Because fucking Kaitlyn is so much more important?”

“We’re not,” Ellie’s head was spinning at all the attacks. Dina was breathing fire at her and she still couldn’t figure out why. Oh shit, Dina’s eyes were red. She’d been crying. “Why couldn’t you go talk to,”

“Don’t you dare say his name,” Dina threw a finger into her face. Even though Ellie was a few inches taller she was starting to feel very, very small. “We broke up days ago.”

It was at that exact moment Ellie’s gut decided to shrivel up into raisin “You did?” The words fell out of her mouth without her permission. Dina took in a deep breath and Ellie was preparing to get her head knocked clean off the rest of her body. Dina spun marching quickly away. “Dina,” Ellie pleaded, “I’m sorry. Please,”

“Jackass.” She spat again throwing her middle finger out instead of looking back. Ellie followed for a few more steps but Dina wasn’t breaking.

Ellie sat in the middle of an empty street with her mouth hanging open. “Dina,” she croaked out despite the fact she was long gone. Ellie’s eyes were stinging. Everything hurt. She wasn’t sure how but Ellie was sure her heart had stopped beating.

“What was it?” Kat mumbled.

Ellie looked at her yet she still wasn’t quite looking at her. “Must have just been a raccoon or something.” Ellie spent the entire night staring at the roof.

\--X--

Ellie watched the last slice of ham get taken by the person in front of her. She had no right to pout after waking up so late but, ham. It would be weeks before the next pigs would be sacrificed for her stomach. But most of those would be smoked and set aside for winter. Ellie took the lukewarm bowl of grits to the spot Kat had saved for her. Thank god for that since the Lodge was packed. “Hey.” Kat brightened when Ellie set her bowl down. “Running slow today?”

“Just trying to get as much sleep as I can before the patrol.”

Alden made a buzzing noise stabbing his food over and over again a spoon. “Just eat it already,” Kat groaned trying to get him to at least stop laying on the bench. “It’s an overnight one right?”

“Mhm,” Ellie nodded. She was not looking forward to it. Dina had been icing her out for days. Of course, this route had to come up in the rotation. Cutting close to the center of the city and known for being nasty. They were one of the only teams that had a perfect record. They soon became the only younger team that was even allowed to run it without doubling up. “Sometimes it takes three days.”

“I don’t know how you can handle it. My timer goes off after sitting in a saddle for more than six hours.”

Ellie wasn’t sure if there was talking directed at her or Alden. Rodger left a table and Dina was right in her sights now. Ellie’s eyes narrowed. No fucking way. She was sitting next to Jesse. Yes, that Jesse. The one guy she’d sworn never to associate with after some childhood fight. Jesse’s plate was nearly empty but he’d saved the best for last. A double ham portion. There’s no way in hell Dina would have given it to him. No. Noooo. Of all the things she could lose she wasn’t expecting that to hurt.

“Don’t forget to pack that extra jacket. The extra altitude will sneak up on you.” Kat reminded.

“Yeah.” The group laughed. Dina laughed. Ellie shoveled down her meal, “I better get going.” She kissed Kats temple before leaving. God, Dina was going to let her die this time, wasn’t she?

“Hey,” Ellie nervously greeted bringing her horse up to Dina’s. Dina flipped her hood up staring straight ahead. It didn’t get any better from there. Two hours of riding just to hit the town. Silence. Ellie’s horse had a speed burst pushing her in front of Dina. Soul burning glare. They tied the horses down to check the first building. Dina didn’t say anything other than the minimum checks. An extra jacket wasn’t going to be enough to cover the cold shoulder she was getting. “Thanks,” Ellie panted pushing the limp body of a dead runner off.

“Good thing I remembered to shoot it.” Dina snipped through her mask. Well, that’s more than she’s said all day. Ellie held out a hand to be helped up but Dina had already moved on. They needed to start to look for something to stay in for the night before the sun disappeared. There was a decent-sized car shop they could pull the horses into.

Ellie went in first and immediately heard clicking. Coming from multiple places, “Shit,” she whispered holding an arm out. “Four?” The crawled forward to a counter trying to get a better look at the shop.

“I’ve got four,” Dina whispered back checking her rifle. “Fuck, I’m down to three bullets.”

“Well, that’s one at least. I’d moltav but there’s bound to be explosives everywhere. There could be a lot of good shit. I’d hate to bring the roof down. Oh damnit, five.” Another clicker came into view with jerking steps.

Dina sighed, “How many do you think we could get into one of the pits?”

Ellie’s head bobbed back and forth, “At least that’s something.” She crawled back into the lobby grabbing a glass vase. She pulled the plastic flowers out leaving them on the table. Dina loaded her rifle steadying it on the counter, “Let’s get it over with.” Ellie threw the vase barely hitting the inside wall of the nearest pit. Three immediately followed the sound but only one fell. “That’s something at least.”

Dina was already tracking the oldest infected. She fired once managing to reload before it could straighten out again. By the second shot it collapsed. “Go.” Ellie sprinted out towards a clicker on the edge of the pit shoving it forward. The first wasn’t too happy about being the cushion it landed on. She skidded to a stop behind one of the large toolboxes.

“Oh they’re angry now.” Ellie thought grabbing a hefty wrench with her free hand. One of the clickers came screeching around the corner. A burst of blood came from its chest. She popped up whacking it mid screech and came back around with her knife before managing to throw it down as well.

“Six!” Dina shouted urgently halfway to where Ellie was.

“The hell?” Then it hit her. Literally hit her. Ellie was thrown back against the garage door with a loud rattle. She barely managed to duck as its arm swung out hitting the door again. Ellie fumbled grabbing her pistol and shot it point-blank. She wasn’t sure if she had fired two or three times. Dina yelped falling to the ground across the shop. “Hey!” Ellie shouted trying to pull the last clickers attention as she lit a moltav and slammed it into the pit. One of the clickers in the pit just about found the stairs before bursting into flames. Ellie was still running towards Dina as she tried to push herself under a workbench. “Don’t you dare touch her!” Ellie growled jumping onto its back in what might be the first ever clicker-human piggyback ride. That wasn’t her brightest moment by any means. Ellie managed to hang onto its crown long enough to get her knife into its neck but was thrown off. It turned screaming but was cut short when its head burst showering Ellie with hot putrid blood.

The clicker collapsed to the ground and the only sound was the last of the alcohol burning away. “Holy fuck.” Dina panted. “You good?”

Ellie let her head drop to the ground for a moment. Talk about oily hair. “Yeah.” She took a deep breath trying to swallow. Dina crawled out from her cover pulling Ellie’s knife from what was left of the head and slid it back over. “Dina, your leg.”

She looked down at the dark spot and tear on her thigh. “Shit.”

“Come on,” Ellie hopped up quickly to help Dina, “Let’s get out of here before that one starts throwing spores.”

“I don’t think it's old enough.” Dina frowned hoping for a step. She kept one hand pressed over the wound. “We could backtrack to that ice cream shop?”

“Sounds good. Is it bad?” Ellie pushed open the door. Dina shook her head despite the blood rolling between her fingers.

“Doesn’t seem too deep. I really liked these pants though.” Dina lightly grumbled. She clicked her tongue and the horses started trailing behind as they walked through the street. The shop door was barely wide enough to get the horses into the small lobby. Dina sat on the edge of a small table. She mumbled to herself grimacing as she rolled her pants down over the wound. “Ow fuck.” It was just far enough back that she couldn’t see most of the cut.

Ellie dropped the second saddle and turned to notice Dina still hadn’t done anything in the last few minutes, “Would you just ask for help already,” She sighed grabbing the supplies from her bag. Ellie rinsed off her hands and hit them with a shot of rubbing alcohol. “Stop glaring at me,” Ellie switched her light on to get a better look at the spot. It was probably in Ellie’s best interest to stay silent but Dina was really pushing every button. She really was an expert at that. “Did you just catch a table corner or something?” Ellie rinsed off as much blood as she could before dabbing the rest away with a clean rag. “At least you won’t need stitches or anything.” Ellie pushed the side of the cut together before pressing a sewn stack of fabric on top. Ellie passed the leftover roll to Dina since the cut was in an awkward spot for her to wrap.

“I’m fine,” Dina said getting everything tied down. While she didn’t move the tone of her voice was more than enough to push Ellie away. They ate a small dinner in silence. Ellie had tied her blanket on like a cape and quietly filled out the logbook for the day. Dina continued to grumble by the small fire stapling together the long rip in her pants.

“Would you please stop that?”

“Stop what?” A hiss as the thick cotton killed another staple.

“Ignoring me.” Dina didn’t answer. Ellie rocked back with a grown. “I fucked up okay? I’m sorry.” Dina shivered suddenly. “Did you not bring a heavier coat?” Ellie was answered with a middle finger.

“Dina I really am sorry. I didn't mean to forget about you. I’m just not used to, having so many people to care about.” Still no response, good lord she was stubborn. Ellie walked over to her untying the blanket. “I’m sorry.”

“Fine,” Dina held out a hand waiting for the blanket.

“Hey, I come with it.” Ellie waited taunting Dina with the offer of warmth. Dina went through four different stages of scowling before she finally broke into an annoyed frown.

“You’re still an ass,” Dina grumbled as Ellie wrapped the blanket around her back.

“I know and I’m sorry. I left you hanging. If I ever start to do it again call me out on my bullshit before it hurts you.” Dina took the loose corners wrapping the blanket as tight as she could. “I promise I’ll do better.” As soon as Dina relaxed down Ellie felt the weight fall from her chest. “Are we good?”

“I guess.” Dina deflated resting her head on Ellie’s shoulder. Ellie leaned for a split second before realizing she was about to kiss Dina’s temple. She wasn’t lying when she said she cared about a lot of people. Ellie froze realizing just what order they fell into. Shit.

“I don’t think I said anything before but,” Dina sighed, “The tattoo really suits you.”

“I still have to pay for it.” She’s never really broken up with anyone before. Fuck.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to be vague about certain time frames and physical descriptions since we know nothing but feral brain was also like, "What if???" It was kinda fun to try to guess at Kat. Like who is the 50-60% compatible person for Ellie and why would she be salty about Dina? Apparently it’s art student uwu. I’m also just a big fan of Ellie kissing all the girls. Like good for you, you funky stabby little lesbian. Things could get real spicy if Dina kissed Ellie while they were still dating. (Then they make out in the 420 bunker not even a day later. It seems like Kat was already an Ex at that point though.....)
> 
> On a totally unrelated note. My sister managed to dropkick and break my mouse. I never knew what a pain editing could be without being able to use the clicky-clicky. RIP mouse, 2015-2019.


End file.
